


Mission Impossible

by Marvelite5Ever



Series: That X-Force AU where the mercenaries like attention, the telepathekenetics have varying degrees of guilt complexes, and the genetically enhanced, nanoactive supersoldiers are almost constantly confused [4]
Category: Cable and Deadpool, Deadpool (Comics), Deadpool - All Media Types, Marvel (Comics)
Genre: Angry!Nate, Cable is NOT HAPPY about what happens, Daniel Way's Deadpool #1-3, F/M, Gen, Guilty!Nate, I might not have covered everything, M/M, Noh-Varr is genetically predispositioned to hate Skrulls, Protective!Nate, Skrull Invasion, The Avengers are not happy to find out that Wade is alive, Wade goes on a mission to find the Skrull Queen, Wade specializes in the impossible, Wade tries to talk sense into everyone, X-Force domesticity, and Nate and Noh-Varr are the ones on the monitor rather than Fury, except that X-Force is the one who sent Wade to get the info on how to kill a Skrull Queen, rather than SHIELD, whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-12-11
Packaged: 2018-05-02 11:36:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5246849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marvelite5Ever/pseuds/Marvelite5Ever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Sequel to <i>Wasn't Expecting That</i>.)</p><p>X-Force works to prevent the Skrull Invasion. </p><p>(Recommended listening for this story: the Mission Impossible theme song. Because Wade is totally humming it like the entire time.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wade 'Impossible' Wilson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wade specializes in the impossible.
> 
> Daniel Way's Deadpool #1-3 – except that X-Force is the one who sent Wade to get the info on how to kill a Skrull Queen, rather than S.H.I.E.L.D., and Nate and Noh-Varr are the ones on the monitor rather than Fury.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Deadpool's mission isn't included in this first chapter, because the comic issues are perfect and I couldn't write anything better. So just imagine exactly what happened in the comics happening (except that Wade only has the one head-voice) until we get to the monitor bit.

* * *

**_~Several days earlier, the X-Force base~_ **

* * *

X-Force stood over the Skrull that was chained to the chair in front of them. 

Thanks to Psylocke's telepathy, they hadn't needed to do very much physical torture. She had her hands on the alien's temples, her eyes clenched shut in concentration as she rifled through its mind. 

Still, Deadpool was twirling a knife that was coated in green blood. 

When Psylocke opened her eyes and stepped back, the Skrull's head lolled back, and the alien groaned. 

“I got it,” she told them. “Everything he knows. The Skrulls have already infiltrated our society, though he doesn't know who's been replaced. Just that the Skrull Queen is one of the Skrulls impersonating somebody important, and that the Skrull Queen has a significant healing factor. The Skrulls' sci-ops division is inside Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, and is one of the most secure places on the planet.” 

“Then the Skrull is of no further use to us,” Noh-Varr said, stepping forward and shooting the Skrull through the head with one of the Kree guns that could collapse into gauntlets he always wore around his wrists. 

“Kid, you've got some _serious_ prejudice goin' on,” Deadpool whistled. 

“You're prejudiced against clowns, mimes, and doctors,” Domino pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him. 

Deadpool inclined his head to her. “I concede the point. Clowns, mimes, doctors, and Skrulls are all evil.” 

“Mon dieu,” Fantomex sighed in exasperation even as he headed for the door. 

“We need a special operative to infiltrate the Skrull high command and retrieve vital information,” Cable said as soon as they'd all filed out of the interrogation room. “We need Skrull bio data—specifically, how to kill a _queen.”_

“You can't sneak into the Skrulls' sci-ops division,” Noh-Varr stated flatly. “And we couldn't take it by force.” He shook his head. “It's impossible.” 

“Wade,” Cable said, nodding at the mercenary. “You're up.” 

Deadpool snapped to attention, posture straightening, arm moving into a salute. “Reporting for duty, sir!” 

“Didn't you hear me?” Noh-Varr said, making a frustrated gesture. “It's _impossible.”_

“Wade specializes in the impossible,” Cable said simply. 

“Impossible is my middle name,” Deadpool nodded, gesturing at himself and grinning. “Wade Impossible Wilson, that's me!” 

Fantomex snorted. “Impossible to _deal with,_ maybe.” 

“Noh, can you track where the Skrull armada will attack?” Deadpool asked, turning to the Kree.

“Of course,” Noh-Varr said. 

“Awesome sauce,” Deadpool grinned, clapping the young Kree on the shoulder. “Figure it out, and send me the coordinates. In the meantime,” he stepped back, gesturing at the hall even as he started walking towards it, “I'll be in my room planning my _super awesome plan_ for how to infiltrate the Skrull high command.” 

The door was hung with a 'Do Not Disturb' sign, and whenever Wade was came out of the room, he was always muttering to himself. 

It was a relief to most of the team when he finally left for the mission a few days later.

* * *

**_~Now, the X-Force base~_ **

* * *

Strangely enough, for the several days that Wade had been on mission and hadn't contacted X-Force, the man who was in love with him was actually the least worried. 

“Wade will succeed,” Cable had assured them. Then, cryptically: “Getting the job done is what he _does.”_

“Then what's taking him so long?!”

Cable had just smiled his maddening I-know-something-you-don't smile. “Because he's doing it _his_ way. And his way is always _very_ thorough.” 

When the computer finally pinged with an incoming call on the X-Force frequency, Noh-Varr was there in a blur. 

He pressed the 'answer' button, and Deadpool appeared on the screen, fully suited in his red and black version of the Deadpool outfit, katanas strapped to his back. 

_“There_ you are,” Noh-Varr said, leaning back in his chair and nodding at the mercenary, letting out a breath that who knew how long he'd been holding. “I'll admit it—I'm impressed.” 

“What can I say?” Deadpool shrugged, though he was definitely preening. “If there's a crime, call a cop. If there's a fire, call a fireman. But if there's a _Skrull Invasion...”_ he jerked two thumbs at himself and grinned. “HOLLA ATCHA BOY!” 

“Hey Cable,” Noh-Varr said, spinning in the chair to call into the other room, “your dream boy did it.” 

“Of course he did,” Cable said as he walked into the room. He nodded at the monitor. “Hello, Wade.” 

“Heya Nate!” Deadpool waved. 

Behind Deadpool, a Super-Skrull strode in, and Noh-Varr sneered in contempt.

Cable's eyes moved from the Super-Skrull to the oblivious Deadpool. “Would you do me a favor, Wade?” 

“I can't kiss you through the monitor, hot lips,” Deadpool said, as suavely as such a statement could be uttered.

Cable's lips quirked. “Turn around, Wade.” 

Deadpool whirled around to see the Super-Skrull standing in the doorway, fiery and icy fists clenched. The mercenary didn't seem surprised in the least. “Well, well, well,” he said. “If it isn't my archenemy... _Frosty the Fireman!_ S'matter, buddy? You look a little—” he waves his fingers vaguely, “what's the word I'm lookin' for?” eyes widening, he held up a finger as he apparently remembered that the word was: _“—stupid.”_

“I _knew_ you were a traitor...” the Super-Skrull grunted through grit teeth. “From the moment I saw you, I _knew.”_

“What—to the Skrulls?” Deadpool said. “Of course! But to Earth? To America and to my Kree teammate? _Hell,_ no.” He jerked a thumb at himself. _“These colors don't run.”_

The Super-Skrull advanced on him. 

“Unless they HAVE TO!” Deadpool cried, turning and hustling it out of the room.

“You allied with a KREE?!” the Super-Skrull roared, chasing after him. 

Noh-Varr stared at the empty room for a moment, before turning to ask Cable, “Is it Wade's life's goal to piss off as many people as possible, as much as possible?” 

“Yes,” Cable said, looking strangely smug about it. He raised an eyebrow at the Kree. “You haven't noticed?” 

“He hasn't pissed _me_ off yet,” Noh-Varr pointed out with a shrug, turning back to watch the screen. 

“He told me that he finds it enough that you get angry whenever Skrulls appear or are brought up,” Cable said. 

“He is very strange,” Noh-Varr said. 

Cable chuckled. “That he is.” 

“But then, I find all humans to be very strange,” the Kree said, shrugging again. He stared at the screen. The empty room was incredibly boring. “What's taking him so long?” 

“He's being thorough,” Cable said again. 

“He can't be thorough _faster?”_

Cable didn't deign that with an answer, and Noh-Varr narrowed his eyes at the empty room on the other side of the screen. 

Still, both he and Cable waited. 

“What took you so long?” the Kree asked as soon as Deadpool walked back in, his footprints tracking green blood across the floor.

“Exposition-heavy scene,” Deadpool answered, collapsing into the chair in front of the screen. “Okay, so... _how_ do I do this?” 

“Did you memorize that sequence that I gave you?” Noh-Varr asked.

“'Course I did, kid,” Deadpool said. He snickered. _“Hehe, rhyme.”_

“Then simply type the sequence into the interface,” Noh-Varr said with a touch of impatience. But hey, what could he do? He was Kree—hatred for Skrulls was practically ingrained in his DNA. “The upload will begin automatically.”

“That's it?” Deadpool asked dubiously.

“That's it,” Noh-Varr affirmed.

“Are you sure the line is secure?” Deadpool asked, tapping the Skrull keyboard in front of him. “Cuz I don't want to send off the information and then have it get intercepted by, I dunno, _Norman Osborn,_ or someone.” 

“Wade, I'm _Kree,”_ Noh-Varr said. It was frustrating how often he had to remind the humans of that. “I am superior to humans in every way. There is absolutely no possible way for any being in this dimension to hack into the line and intercept the data.” 

“Awesome!” Deadpool grinned, putting his hands on the keyboard and beginning to type out the sequence. “It's good to know that _Norman Osborn_ won't be able to cheat me outta my paycheck, cuz then I'd have to chase him down, and there would end up being this whole _thing_ and Normy would refuse to pay me and I'd make fun of his hair and he'd send the Thunderbolts after me, and when that didn't work he'd send _Bullseye,_ and then Bullseye would finally pay me off cuz he's actually smart.” 

“Wade,” Cable said. “X-Force is _pro bono_ work.” 

Deadpool reeled back as if he'd been slapped. “Wait _whaaat?_ It is? Seriously?” 

“Wade...” Cable sighed. 

“Don't worry about it, Nate, you can pay me in attention and affection instead of money,” the merc said airily, winking at Cable, before typing in the last number of the sequence. “Aaaand there!” 

“Data received,” Noh-Varr affirmed as the data started filling a terminal on the screen. “Your mission objective is completed. But _please_ tell me that you killed all the Skrulls.” 

“You actually _doubt me_ and my inherent urges to maim and kill and slaughter?!” Deadpool asked indignantly, bottom half of the mask creasing as he pouted. 

The Kree frowned.  
“That means that yes, Noh-Varr, Wade killed them all,” Cable told him, seeming amused. 

Noh-Varr nodded while reading the Skrull bio data. 

“I know what I do isn't right, but I can't stop what I love to dooo,” Deadpool sang, dancing in the chair, “baby I'm a sociopath, sweet serial killeeer! I left a love note, said you know I love the thrill of the ruuuush, you know I love the thrill of the ruuush, rush...” 

Cable snorted. 

“Good,” Noh-Varr said, gaze flicking from the info back to the mercenary. “Because now that we know how to kill a Skrull Queen, we need to _find_ the Skrull Queen. Since she's no doubt on Earth and has shifted her DNA into that of a human's, I have no way of tracking her. Cable seems to think you have the best chance of finding her.” 

When Deadpool glanced at Cable, the mutant nodded. Deadpool beamed behind his mask. 

“So,” Noh-Varr said, drawing the mercenary's attention back, Deadpool quickly schooling his expression into something sober that left his mask blank. “Any ideas?” 

Deadpool's serious face slowly became a dangerous grin. “I'll find her,” he assured them, standing up out of the chair. “You guys just worry about what to do _after_ I find her.” 

Then he turned off the transmission. 

Noh-Varr got up, walking across the room to his record collection, browsing through the discs for something to play. “We need some way to tell who's a Skrull, and force them to revert back to their true forms.” He pulled out a record, stared at it thoughtfully for a moment, before putting it back and looking for another one. “But there's no way to do that technologically. When the Skrulls capture and replace someone, they don't just replicate their body—they replicate their very _DNA._ They are, for all senses and purposes, identical to whoever they're impersonating. It's impossible to tell the difference.” 

Deciding on a record, the Kree pulled it out, smiling slightly as he slipped it out of its cover and placing it on his record player, beginning to nod his head to the beat. 

Cable nodded, gaze distant, the music unheard. “...I have an idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cable is the leader of X-Force. Noh-Varr just happens to kind of be the authority when it comes to Skrulls, lol. 
> 
> You may rest assured that it drives Cable absolutely nuts. 
> 
> And yeah, this chapter was short and basically just set up for what happens next. But more interesting stuff happens later, I promise ;3
> 
> Anyways! What do you think Cable's idea is??


	2. Queen of Skrulls v. King of Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers find out Deadpool's still alive.
> 
> They're not pleased, and make sure Deadpool knows it.
> 
> When Nate sees what they did to Deadpool, he is NOT PLEASED and MAKES SURE THAT EVERYONE KNOWS IT.
> 
> Deadpool pretty much has to convince him not to burn the world down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love protective!Nate

* * *

**_~A week later, Avengers Mansion, New York, New York~_ **

* * *

Deadpool was on another super-top-secret saving-the-world mission for X-Force (who had mostly accepted him even after his world-endangering, purposeful fuck-up, mostly only because Nate could make some really convincing arguments sometimes), and it had brought him back to New York City, which he hadn't been back to since his world-endangering, purposeful fuck-up. 

But he was X-Force's official scout-out-the-threat guy (probably because everybody in X-Force but Nate liked him better when he wasn't around, and Nate knew that Wade needed to keep busy, and also because Wade was an awesome and super-stealthy field agent of unparalleled talents who specialized in doing the impossible) so he'd been scouting out the threat.

After infiltrating that Skrull spaceship and getting the data on how to kill a Skrull Queen and sending that off to Nate and Noh-Varr, Deadpool then had to figure out just _who_ the Skrull Queen was. 

Which was exactly what he was doing in New York. 

And if you were a Skrull Queen, and you wanted to take over the Earth, which would require defeating the heroes of the Earth, who would you kidnap and then impersonate? 

An Avenger, of course! And if you were a Skrull _Queen,_ you'd probably be impersonating one of the female Avengers. (Which definitely narrowed it down—there was always way too much testosterone on superhero teams. There should definitely be more female superheroes, Wade thought, because female superheroes were badass _and_ pretty (and there needed to be more female superhero merchandise because _seriously people,_ five letters: _B-O-O-B-S_ ), and would balance the superhero teams out, and maybe think a tiny bit more before beating the shit out of him, because females were less likely to go bludgeoning heads with no reason and were more willing to figure out misunderstandings with words rather than fists, which Wade, being generally misunderstood by everyone all the time, definitely appreciated.)

So Deadpool just needed to figure out whether the Skrull Queen was Black Widow, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman, or Jessica Jones. 

And Deadpool didn't think that a Skrull _Queen_ would imitate someone who had to deal with a _baby_ (and with the over-protective, jealous jerk that Luke Cage could be). 

So that narrowed his options down to Black Widow, Ms. Marvel, and Spider-Woman. 

He also had a ton or respect for the Black Widow—Russian superspy supersoldier ballerina _badass_ who could keep the _Winter Soldier_ in line. 

Yeah, no, there was no way the Skrull Queen could kidnap Black Widow and then replace her. 

So that just left Ms. Marvel and Spider-Woman. 

But Ms. Marvel had _Kree powers,_ and Skrulls _hated_ Kree with a fiery, _burning_ passion. 

Which basically just left Spider-Woman. 

Which was also a smart move because Jessica Drew was still pretty new to being an Avenger, and nobody actually knew her that well or really trust her, what with the whole thing with Hydra and all that stuff.

So Deadpool was sneaking through Avengers Mansion searching for Jessica Drew, because he needed to interact with her and make sure she was a Skrull before he killed her. Because if he killed her, and she _wasn't_ a Skrull, well... he'd feel pretty bad about that. And also, when the heroes of the world (not counting X-Force) found out he was actually still alive after he'd supposedly died, they would be really, _really_ mad. Almost destroying the world _and_ killing an Avenger? That would make it pretty hard for him to redeem himself. 

With that in mind, he slipped into Jessica Drew's rooms. 

Spider-Woman wasn't there. 

Well, he'd just have to wait for her to come back, then. And hope that it didn't take too longer, because her room was pretty fucking spartan, and it would be really, really easy to get bored and start doodling on the walls in blood simply because there didn't seem to be any pens or crayons with which to doodle on the walls. 

Luckily, he didn't get _that_ bored before Jessica Drew finally came in, smelling of steam and jasmine shampoo and wearing jeans and v-neck t-shirt and her hair wrapped up on her head in a white towel.

Which was a shame, since she had long, shiny black hair that was really, really pretty. 

_“You!”_ she hissed when she saw Deadpool, her green eyes narrowing. 

“Me!” Deadpool agreed cheerfully. 

A moment later she had him pressed against the wall, a knife to his neck.

_[Purrrrrrrrrrrr.]_

Deadpool looked at her, still grinning. “I love a girl who knows her way around a knife,” he said, voice low and sultry. “Being held at knife-point really turns me on.” 

She pressed the knife against his neck harder, cutting through his suit (his awesome new black and white X-Force suit) and starting to draw blood. _“What are you doing here, Deadpool?”_ she hissed at him. 

“What, you're not happy to see that I'm alive?” Deadpool asked, a hand over his heart. “I'm _hurt,_ Spider-Woman! Truly!” 

_“Everybody knows that you have a healing factor,”_ she said, still hissing. 

[Wow, hissing spiders. Do they growl, too?]

“You know, I used to have a girlfriend who was a shapeshifter,” Deadpool told her conversationally. “She was a really _good_ shapeshifter, too. Went by the name Copycat. Her morphing went down to the _genetic level,_ so she could reproduce powers and replicate psi-patterns. She could duplicate someone so accurately that even those closed to them couldn't tell the difference. She used to take the form of other woman to surprise me.” His voice went quiet and his eyes lowered. “She died in my arms.” 

“What does _that_ have to do with anything?!” Drew demanded, still more of a hiss than a growl. 

“It _means_ that she almost ruined movies and TV shows for me,” Deadpool sighed, exasperated. “The act of _acting_ , y'know? She really taught me the difference between _good_ acting and _bad_ acting, and how to tell when an act was slipping.” 

Her eyes narrowed minutely. In one swift movement, she'd sliced his neck open and tossed him out the window in a shattering of glass. 

Getting thrown out of a window in Avengers Mansion was way less fun than getting thrown out of a window in Avengers _Tower._

Seriously, he even landed on _grass,_ and his back didn't even break. 

Though the slit throat did make it a bit difficult to breathe because there was a _lot_ of blood, and he could feel the warm redness spreading. 

Deadpool mentally cursed her for getting blood all over his nice white suit. 

See, _this_ was why he liked the _red_ suit. Sigh. Team color schemes could really be a bitch, sometimes. They were practically a band. Seriously, if they learned to play instruments, they could _totally_ be a band. The X-Force was be a great band name. Wade and Psylocke could sing, Nate could play bass, Fantomex could get the guitar, Domino could be on drums, and Noh-Varr could do his super-genius tech-guy thing on all the filters and electronic sounds and all that. They'd be an immediate hit!

Deadpool could just see it: their name up in shining lights, playing on a stage with a cheering, screaming crowd before them, producing emo albums and selling band posters that teenagers would put up in their rooms... 

When he sat up, he found himself surrounded by very, very angry-looking Avengers, all with weapons (or just fists) pointed at him. 

There was Spider-Woman, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, Wolverine, probably a few more standing behind them... 

“Well, just look who's alive, after dying while trying to destroy the world and break the timestream or whatever the hell the geeks were talkin' about,” Luke drawled, cracking his knuckles. 

_“Wait!”_ Deadpool said, throwing up his hands. “I bet you're wondering why the white suit! Well that's because—”

[Ow. Ow. Ow.]

See? If there was more than one real female there (the Skrull Queen Jessica didn't count), then they would totally have let Deadpool explain himself first, rather than immediately jumping to beating the shit out of him. 

[Six or more powerful people beating up on one injured guy? This seems an awful lot like _bullying,_ you know.]

They were such hypocrites, considering themselves so high and mighty—and yet they resorted to beating up a guy who hadn't even _attacked_ them, simply because he'd almost destroyed the world _once,_ and because they knew he could take the beating and heal. So it's not like they'd get red in their ledgers by killing him, or anything. 

Broken bones, blood loss, lots of pain pretty much everywhere... 

Oh well. If beating him up made them feel better—he was used to it, anyway. Maybe if he just kept taking the beating and not fighting back they'd eventually realize that he didn't mean them harm and would stop and listen to him... 

[Yup, _aaaaaaany_ time now... they are going to get tired of beating up the poor defenseless guy soon... right?]

_~STOP.~_

The Avengers were blasted away from him. 

Blinking through the blood in his eyes and the yellow, fluttering, chirping birds around his head that indicated some kind of brain damage, Wade saw Nate floating there in an aura of blue, looking absolutely _livid._

[Oh, cool—so Nate's mission to restore his deplete powers worked. Awesome! As long as he doesn't, y'know, start dying again…]

“N-Nate!” Wade gurgled through the blood in his throat, pushing himself up on arms broken in a few different places. 

[Our Savior!]

“Wade,” Nate said, calm voice belying the fury that was threaded through every fiber of his being. 

The Avengers were cowering on the ground and clutching their heads, teeth gritted, some of them whimpering, probably under some sort of telepathic assault of Nate's rage. 

“Which one?” Nate asked, gaze scouring over the Avengers. 

“Spider-Woman,” Wade managed thickly, pointing a crooked finger, which he then straightened with his other hand, the bones clicking. 

[Ow?]

With the smallest of gestures, Nate had lifted Spider-Woman up into the air, and with another gesture, he switched off the shapeshifting switch in her brain, showing her to indeed by a lady Skrull in Spider-Woman's costume. 

_“This_ is why Wade was in Avengers Mansion,” Nate growled at the Avengers, letting them up just enough for them to see the Skrull Queen and realize what was going on, their eyes widening. “He came hear to root out the Skrull Queen that was _spying among you_ in order for the Skrulls to take over the Earth. The Secrete Invasion has already begun. Deadpool is _part of my team_ that is trying to _save you all.”_

“You won't get away with this!” the Skrull Queen hissed. 

“I think I will,” Nate said calmly, shooting her straight through the chest with his Skrull-Queen-killing gun, which was huge and probably much larger than it had to be, simply because he'd had Forge build it for _him,_ and his guns were always huge. 

Probably because Nate was such a huge guy that he made normal-sized guns look dinky. 

The Skrull Queen screamed. 

Nate let go of his telekenetic hold on her, and her body collapsed to the ground, limp and lifeless. 

Nate turned the full force of his anger onto the Avengers. His lips were pulled into a contemptuous sneer. His left eye flashed yellow, so bright it was blinding. 

The ground beneath Avengers Mansion started to quake.

[Oh shit, he's going to burn the world down.]

“NATE!” Wade yelled, scrambling to his feet and ignoring his injuries and broken bones (and hey look, his suit was red and black again! Tattered, also, but...) and waving up at the mutant urgently. “Nate!” 

Staring at him, Nathan blinked, lowering down to the now-steady ground and putting a hand on Wade's back to steady him before his legs could give out, broken bones puncturing through flesh. 

“Are you alright?” Nathan asked softly. 

“Yup!” Wade said cheerfully, wrapping one arm around Nate's neck while he began setting his various broken bones with the other. “And I'll be as good as new in just a few moments!” 

[Did you realize that you still have an arrow through your shoulder?]

“I do?” Wade asked, glancing down to see the arrow sticking out of his shoulder and pulling it out roughly. 

Nate clenched his jaw. 

The Avengers still couldn't move, held in place by Nate's telekenesis. 

Luke Cage tried to say something, and Nate glared at him, gaze full of such hate and anger it made _Wade_ shiver. 

Cage had to be just about shitting his pants right about then. 

“I can and _will_ hurt you,” Nate spoke quietly, but his words seemed to echo ominously, malevolently. “You may have unbreakable skin, but you're not so invulnerable on the _inside.”_

“Nate,” Wade said desperately, wrapping both arms around the Omega-Level mutant's neck, trying to get Nate to look at him. “Nate, it's okay, seriously, I'm fine. Leave the poor kids alone, huh?” 

Nate looked at him. His expression chilled Wade to the bone even while it thrilled him. 

The fact that Nate would get so upset over Wade getting injured? It was, well, kind of awesome, actually. If a little scary. 

[Definitely scary. You're _Deadpool._ Nobody's supposed to care when you get hurt—not even _Nate._ ]

“You can't say I didn't kinda deserve it,” Wade pointed out. 

Nate glared at him. _“Don't say that,_ Wade. They were _wrong_ to treat you that way!” 

“Just let it go, okay?” Wade tried. “They're Avengers, and are heroes most of the time. And we need them for to help contain the uncoordinated Skrull attacks that are going to be happening now that their Queen is dead.”

Nate stared at him for another moment. 

“Fine,” he said, letting go of the Avengers with his telekenetic hold. 

They stood up slowly, warily. 

“You should know that the man you just beat up mercilessly just saved your lives,” Nathan growled at them, and if glares alone could kill people, they'd all be disintegrated into nothing but cosmic dust. “But if you _ever_ harm Wade again, I _will_ kill you.” 

He pulled Wade closer, and then they were shooting away, levitated by Nate's telekenesis. 

“Uh, Nate?” Wade said somewhat uncomfortably. “You're _really_ gonna have to get used to things like that happening to me.” 

“No,” Nate said stubbornly. “I'm not.” 

[And when _Nathan Bullheaded Summers_ sets his mind to something…]

“You _do_ realize that you used to beat me up and explode my head, right?” Wade pointed out, looking up from the view of the New York City (damn, NYC was fucking _huge_ ) passing far beneath their feet to pin his gaze on Nate's face. 

“I _used_ to,” Nate said, not looking at him. His mouth was set in a grim line. 

“This doesn't mean you're going to go easy on me in sparring sessions, are you?” Wade asked. 

Nathan's lips quirked, though he kept his gaze on where they were going. “That's different. And I'll have to go a _little_ easy on you now that I've got my powers back.” 

“Yeah, if you cheat and use your powers I'll have to get Neena, Jean-Phillipe, Elizabeth, and Noh-Varr all on my team. Especially Noh-Varr—that kid kicks _ass_ , and he has the best straight face in the history of _ever,_ and the way his face lights up whenever there's music playing is _adorable_ , and he's _really_ good at arguing with you, and he knows a _shitton_ more about the _time-space continuum_ than _you_ do, which I know drives you _nuts,_ and it's absolutely _hilarious.”_

“You _would_ like that about him,” Nate said.

“Can we adopt him?” Wade asked with wide, hopeful eyes. “Please?” 

“No,” Nate said. 

Wade pouted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wouldn't have thought the Avengers for being ones to beat Deadpool up like that, either, but at the end of _Deadpool's Art of War #4_ , he was all covered in bandages and casts from getting beaten up by superheroes after they'd figured out that he'd been the one to start the war between Thor and Loki that ended up becoming a battle in New York City.
> 
> And I just thought:  
> Nate would hate that.
> 
> This is also partly inspired by Chapter 12 of Lex_Munro's story _The Gardener_ (and if you haven't read the stories in Lex_Munro's series "Stories From the Fateverse," "Dreams of the Waking Man" and "Blood  & Tears," you really, really should, because they are, like, _literally_ the best-written and best-composed fanfiction stories _ever_ ). 
> 
> But basically all I stole is an omega-level-powered Nate being extremely protective of Wade when an Avenger hurts him, and Wade trying to mitigate the situation before something _really_ scary happens. But that's it. 
> 
> Still, giving credit where credit is due. I have been so inspired by Lex_Munro's stories.
> 
> Also, isn't Nate getting his powers back in order to stop the Skrull Invasion such a typically _Nate_ solution? Seriously, he tries to do everything himself - and make all the sacrifices himself, too. And I feel like, however he got his powers back, that they're not completely... balanced... and might be making him slightly unstable. Hm. 
> 
> Yes, I am totally speculating about what's going on in my own story. Because I really have no idea sometimes.


	3. Seeing Red Again (I'm Sorry)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wade is so totally over what happened. Just a day in the life of the living Deadpool. 
> 
> Nate so totally isn't over it. He's still kind of angry, and he kind of blames himself, and he kind of might have turned into a really angry Greek statue. 
> 
> Deadpool doesn't know, but Nate's being weird, and he's not okay with it.

* * *

_**~Half an hour later, X-Force base~** _

* * *

“Shit, what happened to you?” Neena asked as soon as she saw Wade, his suit tattered and stiff with the dark sanguine of dried blood. She paused with a dart in her hand. “Skrulls?” 

Wade grinned wryly through what was left of his mask. 

_“The Avengers,”_ Nathan answered, growling as he put a protective hand on Wade's shoulder, feeling the fury he'd tried to subdue flare up again. 

“The 'good guys' did that, hein?” Jean-Phillipe said, throwing another dart at the board, where he, Neena, and Noh-Varr were having a dart-throwing contest. 

The bullseye was cluttered with darts—not a single dart strayed elsewhere.

“I do not understand human concepts of morality,” Noh-Varr admitted, lazily throwing another dart, pinning it in one of the small fractions of space left within the bullseye circle. 

“Well, you're in the right place!” Wade told him, gesturing around at their group. “I'd say, 'join the club,' but you already have. I'm gonna go take a shower now! And I think I'm down to my last couple suits—can somebody order some more material so I can sew myself up some more backup pairs? Thanks, you guys are the best!” 

He strolled out of the room just as Elizabeth walked in. The telepath didn't even blink in surprised at Wade's state as he brushed by her, instead shifting her gaze to Nathan. 

“You're broadcasting your anger so loudly, Charles will probably hear it at the Xavier Institute,” she told him frankly. 

“Sorry,” Nathan said, strengthening his psi-shields. 

Elizabeth nodded at him, then walked right through the middle of the dart game, not even blinking as the darts whizzed past her head to hit the target board in the steadily dwindling space of its center. 

She sat down on the couch, crossing her legs as she watched the dart game. 

Standing there, Nathan watched the game as well, trying to let go of the anger that still had him trembling and clenching his fists. 

“You want to place bets on who will snap first and start a real fight?” Elizabeth asked him calmly. 

“Fifty says Fantomex.” Nathan tried to unclench his fists.

“Hey!” Jean-Phillipe protested, turning to glare at Nathan even as he threw another dart without looking, hitting yet another impossibly small space within the bullseye area. 

(Nathan tried to calm his breathing.)

“Fifty on Domino,” Elizabeth said. 

(Nathan tried to stop the red that kept trying to consume his vision like the T-O kept trying to consume his body.)

“I heard that, sister,” Neena said dryly as she threw another dart. “And when I 'snap,' I'm coming for _you.” ___

__(Nathan held the red at bay.)_ _

__“Ooh, _combat de chat,”_ Jean-Phillipe purred, throwing a dart and taking up the last open spot within the bullseye circle. _ _

__(Nathan tried to stop seeing the image of the Avengers standing over Wade, beating him to a bloody pulp.)_ _

__“I regret to say that English is the only human language I've learned,” Noh-Varr said, twirling a dart between his fingers. “But, given the context, I'm guessing that meant 'cat fight,' am I correct?”_ _

__(Nathan reminded himself why it would be a bad idea to kill the Avengers.)_ _

__“Oui,” Jean-Phillipe said, straightening his black and white suit and coat that he never seemed to take off—he never took off the mask, either, probably because it had psi-blocks that kept Psylocke and Cable from reading any of his three minds. “Well, now that this game is over, shall we—”_ _

__(Nathan tried not to think about the way Wade had just taken the beating like he'd deserved it.)_ _

__There was a strange kind of screeching _thunk_ as Noh-Varr threw his dart, splitting the dart that was in the very center of the bullseye right now the middle. _ _

__(Nathan tried not to think about the way Wade had scrambled to his feet and mangled limbs and begged him not to harm them, even while he was still bleeding and broken.)_ _

__Neena and Jean-Phillipe whipped their heads around to look at the Kree, the former's eyes narrowed accusingly while the latter's eyes were wide in shock._ _

__(Nathan tried not to think about how much satisfaction the members of the Avengers had felt in hurting Wade.)_ _

__“You are both very good shots,” Noh-Varr told them, expression carefully blank. “You know, for _humans.”__ _

__(Nathan tried not to think about what it was like when Wade was_ dead._)

Before either of them could attack him (they definitely looked like they were going to), a ridiculous, hollow Demi Moore voice rumbled through the room. “Ooh, _burn!_ Kree: 23; Humans: 7.” 

(Nathan tried not to think of the tone of Wade's voice every time he said a self-disparaging or self-loathing comment.)

Wade, dressed in a red Deadpool t-shirt and black Deadpool boxers, sauntered over to Nathan, grinning as he said, “Are you _sure_ we can't adopt him?” 

(Nathan tried not to think about the way the world always seemed to screw Wade over.)

“Like I'd _want_ to be adopted by _you two,”_ Noh-Varr snorted. 

(Nathan tried not to think of Wade throwing himself into that volcano, thinking he had nothing to live for and that the world would be better off without him, and how sometimes Wade still got that _look_ on his face like he wished throwing himself into that volcano had _worked._ )

Wade snickered. “Kree: 24; Humans: Still 7.”

(Nathan tried not to think how it was his fault Wade tried to destroy the world, and how it was his fault Wade died, and how it was his fault Wade kept getting hurt, and how Wade still looked at him like he was the greatest person ever.)

“I think, as far as _he's_ concerned,” Neena said, gesturing at Wade and rolling her blue eyes, “he's _already_ adopted you.” 

(Nathan tried not to think of Wade lying on the ground, broken and bloodied, his blood on the Avengers' hands.)

“He has no legal guardianship over me,” Noh-Varr pointed out with a shrug, splitting another dart down the middle with a dart. “But he can be as proud of me as he wants.” 

(Nathan tried not to think about how Wade had dismissed it like it had been _nothing._ )

For some unknown reason, Wade shouted, “Kick out the epic motherf**ker!” and threw his hands up in the air. 

(Nathan tried not to think about how much pain Wade had been in, because with his telepathy back, he had _felt it,_ and it was _not_ the _nothing_ that Wade treated it as.)

“Hey, hey, hey, Nate,” Wade said, suddenly right in front of him, tapping a finger on his forehead. “You alright in there? Helloooo? Anybody home? You're lookin' a little chiseled out of stone, there, by a Greek sculptor in a very angry moo—”

Nathan met Wade's eyes, and had the desperate urge to kiss him. So he did. 

“—dnmph!” Wade made a startled noise, before he kissed Nathan back. 

“You know, I really hate cows,” Wade told him when they pulled apart, panting.

The other members of X-Force had made themselves scarce (Neena had had to pull Noh-Varr out of the room, because he didn't seem to understand why public displays of affection made humans so uncomfortable, and why certain kinds of intimate moments were supposed to be private, and that he had to leave even though he'd been in the room first.) 

Nathan bent his head forward, his forehead resting against Wade's, their breaths intermingling.   
_“I'm sorry,”_ Nathan breathed. 

“You're sorry that I hate cows?” Wade asked bemusedly. 

Nathan kissed him again, desperate, apologizing, sweet and needy. _I'm sorry,_ he tried to communicate with his lips and tongue without breathing a word (he so often fucked his words up). _For everything._

_I'm sorry, and I hate the way you forgive me._

All Wade's mouth seemed to say was, _I love you._

And Nathan thought desperately: _I'm sorry._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter totally didn't turn out the way I thought it would o.e XD


End file.
